PECULIARITIES OF USING ART THERAPY AS A METHOD OF PREVENTING MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEVELOPING CREATIVE THINKING IN SCHOOLCHILDREN

Abstract

The article reveals the basic approaches to the concept of “art therapy” in the scientific literature, and also describes the history of origin of the considered direction in psychology. Components of the contribution of representatives of psychoanalysis to the development of art therapy have also been considered and the basic areas of application of art therapy techniques in modern age have been described. The author pays attention to art itself, which is an integral part of art therapy. Techniques used in art therapy, such as bibliotherapy, story therapy, choreotherapy, drama therapy, chromotherapy, etc., are characterized in detail. Emphasis is also placed on the features of their influence on the development of aesthetic taste and creative thinking of the personality, as well as the prevention and treatment of mental disorders of schoolchildren. In addition, the role of the teacher in the therapeutic process is shown. The article also considered the issues of art therapy in the educational aspect. Among them, the specifics of application of such techniques among younger and older school-aged children are shown.